Villainess Level 99

Episode 10

I think there's an argument to be made for Ryu just being like a big, scaly cat. Sure, he's more doglike in how he listens to what Yumiella says, but his chomping on people's heads as a form of greeting screams “cat” to me. Or maybe my kitten Lucinda is just a sociopath with no manners. Huh. Something to think about.

Anyway, that ongoing gag aside, I enjoy every time we learn an important thing this week. Unlike other villainess/otome isekai stories, the game's plot is alive and well in this one, and it's forcing Alicia's hand. Given that she has no idea that she's the heroine of a game, that's sad, because as she notes, she had no intention of leaving her home and grandmother to go to the academy; in fact, she'd already refused when she found herself signing the enrollment agreement. And that was just the start – as she tells Yumiella, there have been plenty of moments ever since where she's essentially been a passenger in her own body. That's what happened last week when she disappeared from school: her blanked-out eyes indicated she isn't in control of her actions. There are some issues with this presentation, of course, because the other examples she gives Yumiella of this happening to her did not involve the same glassy-eyed expression, but you can either chalk that up to the questionable production values of this series or the need to show more clearly what was going on. I think either explanation works.

More importantly, all of the examples Alicia gives are moments Yumiella has already noted as game events. Alicia getting close to the prince and his pals, invites Edwin outside at the party and does anything else related to the actual game plot. That means that Alicia's fear of Yumiella may also be more a product of her “programming” than anything else – as we see this week, once she starts talking to the other girl, she's fine with her. Yes, she looks scary through Alicia's eyes, but once the shock is over, Alicia's bias is easily conquered. In her defense, Yumiella's lack of common sense makes it hard for people to cope with her without misunderstandings. Patrick seems to be the only one who can; Eleonora lives in her little world and interacts with Yumiella entirely in relation to it.

But Alicia's willingness to be at least temporary friends with Yumiella allows the latter to finally get Alicia into the dark attribute dungeon of her dreams – and Alicia's nightmares. Yumiella's having the time of her life forcing Alicia through the depths over and over and over again, and she's as usual oblivious to the fact that the other girl is decidedly not having a great time. It works out because Yumiella wouldn't let anything happen to the person she wants to destroy, the Demon Lord, and marry into the royal family so that she doesn't have to. And it largely works, because not only does Alicia make it to around level fifty (by Yumiella's estimation), but she also lights a real fire under the boys, who do not want to be left behind, power-wise. All that, and a new wind-attribute spear to give Patrick as a souvenir of Yumiella's trip!

With the episode count dwindling, Alicia badly needed this power-up. The demon lord is looming in the background, waiting to be defeated, and if Yumiella doesn't want to do it herself, she needs the heroes to be ready. Of course, she could always have Ryu give the demon lord a nice chomp on the head. Again, something to think about.

Rating:

Villainess Level 99 is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.